Fragments
by Hoppiholla
Summary: Tiny pieces of Shepard's galaxy. Histories, reasons, and snapshots, all part of the Ultimate Drabble Challenge 5. -F!Shep/Liara, F!Shep/Vakarian. You have been warned. One hundred Mass Effect drabbles in 20 5-drabble parts.-
1. ONE: Miranda Lawson: Admirable

_So I'm doing it! Yep. After reading _Chains _and _Mass Mayhem _by the wonderful Universitas (srsly, go read his stuffz), I got interested in this 'Ultimate Drabble Challenge.' Now watch as the fledgling writer struggles with the curse of 100-word limits. It's over on Jedi Council Forums. I have to do five drabbles per theme, with twenty themes. I kind of missed the boat, so I can't really call them twenty weeks. _

_The bare bones of this Shepard: Lessa Taime Shepard was born on Mindoir, escaped the batarians and all that good stuff, and got her unit killed on Akuze. Yeah. Mind you, I like a bit of diversity in my Shep's, but this is my favorite Shepard. You know, the one I played without specifically going for Renegade points..._

_Also: **no Kasumi or Zaeed.** I didn't play with them with Lessa, and I don't plan on going back and doing it all again. Sorry for the Goto and Massani lovers out there, but...problem?_

_Let it begin!_

**One: Miranda Lawson – Admirable**

**1 Doctor**

She wasn't born, she was grown. The fact one no one would ever let her bury.

Some days, she pretended she had a mother. She would hug and hug herself, and stroke her own hair, pretending. She would paint pictures of a beautiful woman and show them to her art teacher, who would smile until she mentioned the word 'mother.' Then she would see her father for another lecture on who she was.

He was never her father. He was her creator, but not her father. His interest was clinical, and as she grew up, she cried over it. 

**2 Companion**

The first time she caught him looking, she shrugged it off. The second time, she glared back. The third time, she asked him what his problem was.

He said that she was the Boss's daughter, and if she didn't mind him saying it, she was beautiful. A smile appeared, and she thanked him. She came to see him the next day. They spent more and more time together, disguising their meetings in the rosebushes Niket tended. Miranda found herself drawn to him because he was the only friendship her father hadn't immediately terminated. She worked hard to keep it that way.

**3 Time**

The day came when her father presented her with a sister. It was so small, but with a shock, Miranda saw herself in the tiny face. She was barely sixteen, but she had already mastered everything but in her path. She was the best at anything, and still, her father had repeated his mistakes.

There was the blessing of time to save this child. She would not be expected to do anything other than eat, sleep, and talk. In that inactivity, Miranda would save her little sister. She would do anything she had to to save Oriana from her father's tyranny.

**4 Space**

Niket was waiting for her. That was what she had to focus on. Not the backpack over her shoulders, not the tiny sister she had left behind. As she ran for the final barricade, she promised to herself over and over that she would come back for Oriana.

Only when the blue biotic nebula she had trained for engulfed her shape did the snipers on the wall start yelling. Miranda leaped, a massive charge propelling her forward, and everything seemed to slow down as she was weightless. She was falling, and only a blue pulse saved her life as she dashed from the only home she knew.

**5 Dimensions**

There were many sides to a story. That much she had learned. She had always seen the side of Cerberus her father wanted her to see—humanity's protector, a powerful champion. She had pledged her allegiance before she even knew their history. Miranda had so firmly knew that they would help her, that she hadn't thought of any other option.

They were not just champions. They had killed countless people, and permanently damaged many more. But was a selfish person. She could forgive them, she would forgive them, as she looked down at the toddler in her hands, tugging on Miranda's own hair. It was all worth it.


	2. TWO: Ronald Taylor: Sultan

_And we now get right into it...week two! This one is going to be fun. I had such joy with the hundred-word limit for the first five... For this one, 'm going to go the really obvious route. I feel boring now, but since I did all the loyalty missions, why not go for one that's easy? That's lazy, lazy me!_

**Two: Ronald Taylor – Sultan**

**6 Island**

Ronald was captain now. Ronald had the power now. Ronald made very sure everyone thought they would go back to their lives when they escaped. They thought of him as their final savior, the one who would return them all to human status.

He was going to break the old rule: 'No man is an island.' He was going to secure everything he needed, and bask in his own glow. He was going to use this planet and this ship for himself, and it was going to be only him who reaped the benefits. He would rule this island.

**7 Survival**

Ronald Taylor watched as his crew fell deeper and deeper into the primal instincts of mankind. He saw them attack and kill each other, he saw the women standing around like the slaves the male crew had made them into. He had made his own careful retreat, preparing for his coup.

He came to them when they were dying, and healed them all. He became their deity, their god, their savior. They didn't think of the food he kept for himself. Ronald told himself it was simple survival. He had to keep his own mind intact, himself protected. Simple survival.

**8 Lost**

His entire family thought he was dead. He wasn't sure if he didn't want to keep it that way, not anymore. Here, he had wealth, women, and wanderlust. Back home he was just some officer on a random ship. He wasn't sure if he didn't want to stay where he was king.

He ruled the island with an iron fist, and made sure no one got any ideas. The mechs were always up and running, and his bodyguards were loyal to 'the Provider.' They loved him. He was safe and living it up. Maybe he should just stay lost.

**9 Other**

When he saw Jacob coming toward him after dispatching his bodyguards, for a second, he thought he was hallucinating. Cerberus filters were notoriously hard to get through. He had expected soldiers to take him away from his crumbling kingdom, not his son. It was better. The son would hail the father in joy, and then came a quick shuttle back to whatever station.

What he got was a soldier son. A turian and another human woman stood by while Jacob ranted on at him about honor and duty. It didn't matter any more. His kingdom was gone, and it was time to leave. But he had thought Jacob wasn't his father, and he had been right.

**10 Flashback**

He used to hold his son and daughters and his wife in his arms. Now all he had was an empty planet and a destroyed kingdom. How he wished he could hold them again. Jacob, the Commander, and the turian had turned and left as easily as if he was a criminal. He wasn't—not really—but Jacob's words cut deep.

He remembered bringing up Jacob, Layne, and Sarah, and wished he had never come here. He looked around at his broken world without any hope of rescue, and he did not regret it when the first hunters' shot slammed into him.

_I feel kind of mean for portraying Ronald Taylor as a total douche, but he was. Really he was. Sorry about the lack of Shepard, but my muse denies me access. I would make a joke about Bypass or Hacking right now and how much they infuriate me, but even I'm not **that **much of a dork. _


	3. THREE: Urdnot Wrex: Union

**Three: Urdnot Wrex – Union**

**11 Far**

He had dreams for his people. He wanted them to go far, become once more a player in the galactic game. Regain their old strength without becoming the mindless horde they once were. Evolve. Maybe he could learn something from the humans, from Shepard: he had to adapt to the low status the galaxy held them in. But once they succeeded, they would take to the stars, and reteach the view of krogan throughout the galaxy. In his future, he saw colonies, and an organized army, and schools for the children they would protect.

**12 Prisoners**

They were prisoners of their own stupidity. The clan leaders wanted glorious battles, not a future. He couldn't make them see reason, and they were going to drag everyone down with them. As they flailed and died, removing the krogan from the galaxy altogether, they would wonder why they hadn't listened to him. There wasn't any glory to be had if you were dead! The old fools were going to run themselves into the ground. He would only work for them to a point. They had to come to soon.

**13 Peacekeepers**

He had to be the peacekeeper, because no one else would. He and his allies would unite the clans, and breed the krogan back to their former glory. Then they would fight, against others, not themselves. He had a plan. And then hell broke loose.

Jarrod's men came forth with a battle cry. Even krogan get spooked when someone painted like a ghost comes charging at you. Their ranks were split before they even knew what was happening, and Wrex had his knife before Jarrod even knew he had it on him. The knife was hilt-deep before Wrex even knew what he was doing.

**14 Uncharted**

He had never worked for a Spectre before. He thought they were supposed to be aloof, godly, and protective of their shining pedestal. Much less get their hands dirty, at least publicly. Much less even talk to krogan. Much, much less be human. Much, much, much less be a human woman that was a little over half his height.

But Shepard had earned his respect countless times. She was a warrior, and a damn good one, and had the spark of leadership he had always longed for. She was as close to a krogan as any human he had known, and he followed her because he wanted to, not because she held his paycheck. Working for a Spectre was uncharted territory, but one he was looking forward to mapping.

**15 Scape**

He went back when he had told himself he never would. When Shepard died, he didn't have anything tying him to the Alliance or to the Council. So he would go back and finish what he started on Tuchanka. He would be the base for their rise to power. He had to shut away his regret that he hadn't been able to save her.

So he came back to the krogan, impeccable timing and all. They were ready to drag themselves out of the muck, ready to shine, if not exactly in the way he wanted them to. But he was the Slayer of the Thresher Maw, and they accorded him respect in battle if not in ideals. He would do it, for them and for him, and, to be honest, in Shepard's honor.

_And now we're to everyone's favorite krogan! Or second favorite krogan. But anyone who loves Grunt more than Wrex doesn't deserve to finish the game. -glare.- And for God's sake I can **not **write Wrex . I was going to do Jack or Kuril for this one, but I let my mom try and pick a character (yeah, I'm a loser, get over it) and it happened to be kind of fun to write the first one_. _And then it just worked out so perfectly with the others, I just had to go whole hog. Yay for serendipitous happenings!_

_Scape means the base of a column, just to explain. _


	4. FOUR: Conrad Verner: Devotion

Get Smart..._I see what you did there. .o -stare- So of course...who's the smartest of them all? MY BIGGEST FAN. And I changed '99' to 'Ninety-nine' because it would have looked weird having one titled '17 99.'_

**Four: Conrad Verner – Devotion**

**16 Smart**

His mother always told him he would go far. She would ruffle his hair and say, "That's my boy, that's my Conrad. Run along." She always wanted him to run along. He guessed it was because she wanted him to work hard. She was so good to him.

He ignored school, because he really wanted to apply for basic. When he asked his mother if he could apply, she looked at him, panicked, and said, "Conrad, you're too...smart for the military, do some good...here." He guessed she didn't want him to go get himself shot. She was so good to him.

**17 Ninety-nine**

He had a tiny apartment in the Wards. It wasn't much, but it was where he did all his training for becoming a Spectre someday. Ten crunches every morning and an hour every Sunday at the shooting range with a pistol. Someday he would be famous. So he used the apartment to focus himself.

He had exactly ninety-nine pictures of Commander Shepard in his apartment. He was always looking for that priceless holo, the one that would complete his collection. And this was it, a heroic pose she had done just for him. Number One-Hundred.

**18 Chief**

She was the first thing on his mind when he woke up. She was the last thing on his mind when he went to sleep, next to his wife, but his wife wasn't the one on his mind. She would be famous like him, one day, and she was just intolerant of his dreams.

Commander Shepard was his chief concern. She was the first human Spectre, and had paved the road for his greatness. No, he would never be as awesome or godly as her, but he could get fairly close. Maybe she would even invite him to the _Normandy..._

She was first. She always came first.

**19 Agents**

He used to run around the house in a cape, pretending he was Boomon the Invincible Man. His father made him a plastic pistol and told him to run along. He was a foolish child back then. Now he had much more serious goals. He was going to be a Spectre.

Heroic fighter for the Council and Humanity, Conrad Verner. He became even more determined when Commander Shepard became the first human Spectre. They would be comrades, and he dreamed of the day when she would ask him to join her. The two of them, agents together, saving the galaxy.

**20 Shoe**

Conrad could just see himself walking through Illium in his N7 armor—even if it was a replica—and drawing the awestruck gazes of every asari around. They would proposition him, of course, but he would have to turn them down. Spectres had honor.

Morlan had assured him it was an exact replica of Commander Shepard's armor in a male format. Conrad had bought it right then and there. Sure, it had upset his wife, but she had forgiven him very quickly and even paid for his fare to Illium. So he wore it with pride. Now if he could just find the other shoe, he could stop wearing one sneaker and _really _look like a Spectre.


End file.
